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Strangely, Given America’s History and the Current Racially Charged Environment, Russell Moore and the ERLC Do Not Have Any Black Speakers on the Roster for the Gospel & Politics Conference

Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, gives a report during the last session of the two-day June 16-17 SBC annual meeting at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio. Photo by Paul W. Lee

UPDATE: One of the first things Samuel Rodriguez said at the event is that ‘the era of the angry white male evangelical spokesman’ is over.

It is our prayer and hope that Russell Moore, who we believe has the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr., is not losing courage regarding racial reconciliation and racial unity among Christians in this country.

We at BCNN1 obviously believe that Russell Moore is a good man with a good heart who does not have a racist spirit at all. However, we find it strange (but not offensive) that, although he has had blacks to participate in every conference he has organized, when it comes to the Gospel & Politics Conference, he does not have any black speakers on the roster.

We particularly find this strange considering our history and the present racially-charged climate. Let’s be very clear here: many blacks lost respect for white conservative Christian leaders long ago, but because of things that have been said and done in recent years by certain white conservative Christian leaders, white conservative Christians are in serious danger of losing respect from black conservative Christians as well. If white Bible-believing Christians and black Bible-believing Christians don’t work together to try and turn this country around, there will be no chance that this country can be saved.

If Russell Moore, whom we believe God has called to help lead a black-white-brown coalition of Bible-believing Christians to change things in this country, allows certain white conservative Christian leaders to subtly pressure him to make this a “white against black” thing (or “we whites must take our country back from the blacks” thing), we will all lose in the end. It is our prayer that Russell Moore, who has the spirit of Martin Luther King Jr., will not lose courage.

As Benjamin Franklin said, “We must all stand together, or else we will all hang separately.”